This Valentines day an estimated 200 million red roses will be given as tokens of affection. This Good Question shows how to make that gesture of love last longer. "What's the best way to keep flowers looking fresh?"

This Valentines day an estimated 200 million red roses will be given as tokens of affection. This Good Question shows how to make that gesture of love last longer. "What's the best way to keep flowers looking fresh?"

Southwest Florida is one of the best places in the world to see dolphins swimming up to boats and putting on a show in the wild. Chuck in Fort Myers asked the Good Question: "Why do dolphins swim in boat wakes?"

Southwest Florida is one of the best places in the world to see dolphins swimming up to boats and putting on a show in the wild. Chuck in Fort Myers asked the Good Question: "Why do dolphins swim in boat wakes?"

"Wow, that's loud." You've likely aimed those words at the direction of your TV from time to time. It's the most common Good Question we receive at Waterman Broadcasting.

In a recent note, Thomas in Fort Myers wrote:

"My wife and I are tired of the commercials being louder than the TV program that is showing. Didn't the FCC pass a law requiring equal volume throughout all broadcasting?

Thomas isn't alone. This has been an on-going issue for stations across the country. The Federal Communications Commission received so many complaints about unequal audio levels, the United States Congress passed a law to fix it. The rule went into effect in December of 2012.

It's an obvious statement but one that's at the core of this question. NBC2 pays the bills by playing commercials.

A master control operator launches the line-up. Commercials though are regulated by the FCC to be no louder than programming.

"I've been general manager here for 27 years," says Steve Pontius. He said through the years one question has trumped all others. "Number one question is why are the commercials so dadgum loud."

We get out of his office to show part of television viewers never see.

"These are the guys monitoring what's going on over the air right now," Pontius said as he pointed to the master control booth.

Until recently, master control operators adjusted the volume of commercials by hand. Now machines do it.

Specifically, that's the job of a $25,000 piece of equipment which is in a nearby rack. It keeps the volume for commercials within the limits set by the FCC. It's a blue box marked with the label "C.A.L.M." That stands for Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act.

A long, complex name for something with one goal: equalize audio levels.

"Bingo! It's just that simple," said Pontius.

A commercial may have louder and quieter moments, but overall it shouldn't be louder than the surrounding programming. There are other factors at play here. Be it tone of voice or multiple layers of sound, Waterman Broadcasting's general manager said some commercials may still seem louder.

"It will be perceived as louder, but when you look at it on a VU [volume unit] meter, and that's what this equipment does. This equipment is agnostic," said Pontius. "It doesn't care who the advertiser is, it doesn't care what the programming is."

So whether you're watching a newscast, syndicated show, or commercials know there's an audio gatekeeper trying to level with you.

"Will it satisfy everybody? Absolutely not," Pontius admits. "But it's the best we can do with the technology we have."

Waterman Broadcasting's "C.A.L.M. box" is tied to computers that keep track of all audio levels throughout the day. If the FCC wants to see our logs, we now have the ability to print charts and graphs showing we're in compliance. Thomas thanks for your Good Question.